Page 102 of Vampire's Hearth

I looked at him and saw the pain in his eyes. I leaned into him. “You really miss her.”

He nodded. “I don’t understand. I don’t understand where she and my father are. The hardest part is only knowing they are alive because my faction cannot enter my mother’s homes.” His voice cracked as he spoke, unable to keep it steady.

I turned to him and took his hands in my own, giving them a gentle squeeze to reassure him before I caught his gaze. “We’ll find your family as soon as we find the Cure. I promise.”

His eyes filled with love as he gazed into mine. I felt the warmth of his skin as he ran his thumb in a gentle path over my cheekbone. I closed my eyes as my heart swelled. “My family is also right here,” he said, his words low and honest. He brought his forehead to mine, and I inhaled his scent. He continued the movement until our lips met, unhurried. His tongue grazed over my own with soft strokes as his hand twined in my hair. He pulled back, and a smile played on his lips and in his eyes, his voice taking on an edge of excitement. “There’s one more place I want to show you.”

His grip on my hand was firm and comforting as he led me through the manor's front door. The glass knob magnified his hand as he gripped it, as I noticed even the smallest detail. The grandeur of the great hall washed over me as he closed the heavy wooden doors behind us, the click echoing through the space. We crept up the same steps we had a month ago, his fingers trailing on the wood of the banister. A thrill went up my spine and a secret smile came to me as I remembered all the wonderful ways those fingers had pleasured me.

As we reached the door, a small, playful laugh burst from me. I recalled Conall insisting Cormac stay on this floor with him to protect Lyra and me, and I laid my fingers lightly on his biceps.“So Conall didn’t really need you to stay down here with him, did he?”

Cormac shook his head, a sly smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, his eyes glimmering with mischief. “I thought it was very inventive of him to say that. He granted me use of my own room.”

We stepped into a large receiving room. My eyes swept across it, taking in the contrast between how modern it was in such a historic home. The dark blue walls, the color of the night sky, were painted with stars. To the right was a sitting area with several sofas and a television. To the left were multiple desks and a bookcase. A large window looked out over the harbor.

Cormac pointed in the direction I was looking, his lips so close to my ear I could feel the air moving my hair as he reflected on the manor’s inextricable links to the harbor. “If you climb out that window, there’s a small overlook where you can see the water. It’s captivating. I can understand why my mother watches it as she does.”

I turned my face toward his and pecked his lips before I raised my eyebrow. “So is this what you wanted to show me?”

His voice dropped lower as he smiled and took my hand firmly in his again. “Part of it. The rest is over here.”

We walked past the sitting area to the last door on the left. He hesitated for just a moment before pushing open the dark wood door and flipping on the lights. A small chandelier with matching sconces on the walls lit the room.

When I walked in, I could tell this was Cormac’s sanctuary. His familiar scent hung in the air, embracing and welcoming me as I walked across the threshold. The gray walls were broken up with dark wood furniture. A chair sat in the near right corner, a pair of pants out of place as they were haphazardly thrown across it. Beside it was a bookshelf, but it held more pictures than books. Afour-poster bed with a black bedspread dominated the far wall, next to a window.

Curiosity gripped me as I crossed the room to the window, finally having a view of something other than the harbor. It did not disappoint as I looked out over the gardens. To the left, moonlight bathed the ash and hawthorn trees surrounding the cottage roof with a silver shimmer. A crystalline beauty emanated from the muted colors of the garden flowers.

I felt Cormac’s presence behind me before the warmth of his arms wrapping around me registered, one around my stomach, the other crossing my lower abdomen, his hand resting on my thigh. He used his chin to nudge my hair away from my neck as soft, deliberate kisses trailed from my earlobe to my collarbone, his arms holding me close to him, causing a tingle between my legs but a sense of anticipation in my neck, as though the nerves begged to feel his fangs slide into my vein.

I leaned my head back on his shoulder, savoring the embrace, completely at ease in his arms, even with the odd sensations. My mind filled with the stories from tonight, everything he had twisted to hide from me had been untwisted and laid bare. My thoughts swirled as my body heated from Cormac’s kisses, his lips capturing mine from behind. I wanted to draw his hand to my breast and feel his fingers on it, under my clothes.

I forced my lips away from his and inhaled a short, sharp breath. “What does all of this mean?” I turned toward him in his arms so I could look him in the eye, leaning back as his strength steadied me.

He hesitated before he shook his head. “I don’t know, but I know I can not continue this existence without you. Something has been pulling me to you since the moment I saw you. My starlight, guiding me.” His mouth claimed mine before he pulled back. “Tell me you don’t feel the same?”

My voice strained. “I do but...”

“But what?” he said before his lips brushed mine. “I will not attempt to persuade you into something you don’t want.”

I felt tears come to my eyes, the memory of his lifeless body next to mine flashing through my mind. “I don’t know how to make it work—the coven—”

“We can figure that out together.” His voice was equally soft and excited as he took my hands. “I want to be with you, only with you, like my heart has been guiding me to from the moment I saw you. The only body and blood I want are yours.”

His lips crashed into mine, his kiss taking on a fervency I hadn’t expected. Wetness reached the top of my inner thighs, and my breasts tingled as his tongue met mine. I couldn’t deny that this was the man I wanted forever. Through a combination of blood and magic, I would keep myself just as I was today if only I could be with him.

I kissed him back, my tongue chasing his into his mouth, my fingers lacing into his hair. His arms tightened around my back, but not uncomfortably so. His hand dropped to my ass and pushed my hips into his so I could feel his hard cock waiting for me. My heart screamed for him in a way I had refused to acknowledge before. It screamed not only for his cock, but his soul, his heart, his fangs, for him to take every part of me in any way he desired. Our kiss slowed, deepened, and I knew what he wanted. My head fell back as he ran kisses along my throat, his tongue creating a trail of wetness.

“Cormac,” I gasped out. He raised his head, his eyes searching mine, filled with the fever of need.

“Starlight?” His pet name for me fell off his lips.

“Take me,” I breathed. “I want you to fuck me until your cum is seeping from me and then do it again.”

He growled as he kissed me before pulling back just enough. I could taste the air as he spoke. “That was already the plan.” He dropped his kisses back to my neck.

I gasped, struggling to get the words out around the sensations in my body. “And I want you to feed from me. I want your fangs in my neck and to feel my blood run into your mouth.”

He went rigid and searched my eyes. “Do you know what this declaration sounds like?”

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